US slams Iraq over protester deaths, Iran-backed militias in annual human rights report

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — An annual human rights report released by the US State Department on Tuesday has accused the Iraqi government of negligence in protecting its citizens and failing to take serious action against Iran-backed militias. 

Iran-backed elements of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) “engaged in killing, kidnapping, and extortion throughout the country, in 2020, the report said, saying Baghdad did not keep a tight grip on security forces. 

“Federal civilian authorities did not maintain effective control over some elements of the security forces, particularly certain Iran-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces units and the Popular Mobilization Committee.”

The report discussed violence during the anti-government demonstrations held across central and southern Iraq since 2019, in which thousands of demonstrators have been killed and wounded by security forces and Tehran-backed groups, who it also accused of seizing property from owners in the northern city of Mosul. 

Activists and journalists have also been kidnapped and assassinated by the PMF and government forces, it said, pointing to the killings of Basra activists and Iraqi analyst Husham al-Hashimi, who was threatened by Iran-backed groups before being gunned down in July.  

Baghdad has not done enough to bring those responsible to justice, Washington said. 

“The government also did not initiate investigations into the abduction and torture of demonstrators and did not prosecute any perpetrators in relation to such acts, including those committed by nongovernment militias and criminal groups.” 

Washington has urged Iraq to ramp up pressure on Tehran-backed groups amid increased tensions between the US and Iran in recent years. It previously threatened to close its Baghdad embassy and withdraw all troops if Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi failed to rein in the militias.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are just two of many other problems in Iraq, according to the report. 

Authorities launch arrest campaigns without arrest warrants and with vague accusations against activists and journalists, it said, adding that the government imprisoned individuals for “political activities or beliefs under the pretense of criminal charges ranging from corruption to terrorism and murder.”

Although Kadhimi recently promoted the idea of press freedom in a meeting with the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, local journalists face significant dangers while doing their work, particularly when reporting on the protest movement. 

“Journalists who dare to report the demands of the protesters are liable to be harassed, abducted, physically attacked or even killed by unidentified militias,” Reporters Without Borders has said on the current situation for journalists in Iraq.